E-Bikes – seeking help and recommendations for a tall person

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floydbloke

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#281529 23-Feb-2021 09:56

I will soon be in the market for an e-bike.

One of my main selection criteria is that I’d like to sit as upright as possible when riding (like the majority of Dutch commuter cyclists, and unlike Tour de France participants). I’m 190cm tall.

Cursory looks in the past have shown this to be a bit of challenge. Typically the bike styles I have seen available in NZ I have had to bend down to reach the handle-bars.

Before I start pestering physical store staff, I’m hoping to get some guidance here on what I could/should look for, e.g.

Frame-size for someone of my height, closely followed by
Handle-bar height
Feasibility of fitting a longer stem to the handlebars (keeping in mind cables and stuff)
Am I dreaming? I’ll never be able to find a bike like that
What else is good, what else to avoid.

Thanks.

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#2661648 23-Feb-2021 10:09

what's your purpose

if commuting then i recommend a bike with a hub motor. for your i'd say go with the magnum metro 29 inch.

the downside of a hub motor is it is very rear heavy and you don't get torque assist. if means the motor is on/off, when on it does all the work and you get little exercise. and you really shouldn't do mountain biking with it.

if you get a mid drive, just know that the motor is putting a lot of stress on the chain and one day when you are going uphill the chain will snap and you will have to walk. but it is a nicer feel when you go on non paved terrain.

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#2661651 23-Feb-2021 10:15

I don't know if this is of any help but we ordered our eBikes in October last year and you guessed it, they are late. But the good news they are now on the high seas somewhere between China and NZ.

The two bikes we have ordered are the Tui Plus and Falcon Plus from evinci which is a New Zealand company based in Tauranga. The bikes are made in China but designed and assembled here. The site does have Frame Geometry for each bike.

The backwards bend handlebar gives the rider an almost upright riding position, making it the perfect bike to cruise along over longer distances.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

floydbloke

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#2661658 23-Feb-2021 10:44

Batman:

what's your purpose

if commuting then i recommend a bike with a hub motor. for your i'd say go with the magnum metro 29 inch.

the downside of a hub motor is it is very rear heavy and you don't get torque assist. if means the motor is on/off, when on it does all the work and you get little exercise. and you really shouldn't do mountain biking with it.

if you get a mid drive, just know that the motor is putting a lot of stress on the chain and one day when you are going uphill the chain will snap and you will have to walk. but it is a nicer feel when you go on non paved terrain.

Purpose is recreational and hoping to get some level if exercise. I'm anticipating 20km or so rides on paved roads and gravel paths/cycleways, but definitely not mountain biking.

I do like the look of the Magnum Metro. Would that be OK on unpaved terrain? Does the 29" refer to frame size? (Something for me to look for when researching alternatives.)

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

KrazyKid

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#2661669 23-Feb-2021 11:10

I've got a magnum metro. It's great around the roads and hills of Dunedin. It is a heavy bike so do use the supplied stand. By leaning it I've dropped it a few times and cracked plastic. Grrrr.

I tried a few other models and the power from the motor up the hill was best on the metro - important here in Dunedin!
Range wise after a year of constant use I took it for a 50km ride around the habour here. Flat most of the way, but still heap plenty of charge left.

The tires are wide enough that they should cope with gravel and Kevlar lined so I've never had a puncher despite riding it 4-5 times a week.

Electicify who supplied mine down here was more that happy for me to borrow one overnight to test it out.
Go talk to them. They will be able to help.

jonathan18

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#2661717 23-Feb-2021 11:29

When I was looking at e-bikes at a local shop I noticed one variant that came with an adjustable stem - this allowed the angle to be adjusted, therefore adjusting the height of the handlebars. The salesperson said this could be added to any of that brand’s range for (I think) $70, and this may well be something possible with other brands if you feel the handlebars are too low. (It was a Wisper from https://electricbikesplus.co.nz/ebikes-shop).

I’ve also noticed most models from the main brands come in a range of sizes, so choosing the right frame size will help, in addition to the frame geometry and style. The great thing is there are so many variants now it’s possible to find a relatively upright bike with some off-road potential, for example (so feasible for comfortable urban commuting plus trails etc).

Edit: this is the bike I took for a short spin the other weekend, and I was surprised at how comfortable I found it - I too want to sit pretty upright and this doesn’t look like it would lend to that. That said, I think I’d make sure I took the bike for a much longer ride before committing (or be sure about how easy/costly a longer or adjustable stem was to fit).

https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/APBOCN1ETAA/title/2021-fastroad-e--ex-pro-45km-h---black?sr=giant+fastroad

Batman

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#2661732 23-Feb-2021 12:01

floydbloke:

Batman:

what's your purpose

if commuting then i recommend a bike with a hub motor. for your i'd say go with the magnum metro 29 inch.

the downside of a hub motor is it is very rear heavy and you don't get torque assist. if means the motor is on/off, when on it does all the work and you get little exercise. and you really shouldn't do mountain biking with it.

if you get a mid drive, just know that the motor is putting a lot of stress on the chain and one day when you are going uphill the chain will snap and you will have to walk. but it is a nicer feel when you go on non paved terrain.

Purpose is recreational and hoping to get some level if exercise. I'm anticipating 20km or so rides on paved roads and gravel paths/cycleways, but definitely not mountain biking.

I do like the look of the Magnum Metro. Would that be OK on unpaved terrain? Does the 29" refer to frame size? (Something for me to look for when researching alternatives.)

29" refers to the wheel size. i have tried that bike and it will fit you really well. it's the upright style that you want.

i'm not sure about gravel cycleways, but i think it will be fine as long as not too bumpy.

if you get these bikes make sure the rear tyre is always pumped up hard otherwise you will get a pinch flat style puncture easily on non paved roads or when hitting potholes.

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Batman

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#2661736 23-Feb-2021 12:12

KrazyKid:

I've got a magnum metro. It's great around the roads and hills of Dunedin. It is a heavy bike so do use the supplied stand. By leaning it I've dropped it a few times and cracked plastic. Grrrr.

I tried a few other models and the power from the motor up the hill was best on the metro - important here in Dunedin!
Range wise after a year of constant use I took it for a 50km ride around the habour here. Flat most of the way, but still heap plenty of charge left.

The tires are wide enough that they should cope with gravel and Kevlar lined so I've never had a puncher despite riding it 4-5 times a week.

Electicify who supplied mine down here was more that happy for me to borrow one overnight to test it out.
Go talk to them. They will be able to help.

the only thing better than that is another motor on the front wheel. let me know if you can find a way to do that.

Baudy

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#2661843 23-Feb-2021 14:30

On the more expensive side of things but you could consider a Specialized Turbo Como. Their XL sizes are recommended for people between the 183 - 196 cm's.

Specialized are mid drive (which as a previous poster noted does increase chain wear, but also means the bike can make use of the gears which results in much more effective use of power / battery). Specialized e-bikes are expensive but allow you to tune the motors responsiveness and power output via an app, their motor also has very little drag when you turn off the assistance. They are also pretty quiet and adjust their power delivery directly to how hard you pedel (whereas rear hub drives are not always as responsive). Whether it's worth paying a premium for that stuff will depend on how much you want to spend and how you want to use the bike.

Whichever bike you choose you will need to decide what "class" you get. From what I can tell there are 3 classes of bike that provide assist up to 45 km/h. I think the Turbo Como assists up to 32km/h

From what I can tell getting any E-bike at the moment is a challenge so you may have plenty of time to pick through options!

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#2661847 23-Feb-2021 15:01

The mangum metro will be the spec in speed and acceleration hands down I reckon

Geektastic

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#2661848 23-Feb-2021 15:04

I can recommend Specialized e-bikes. I have a Vado Turbo that was pre-app, so I cannot tune mine and the upgrade to make it so is ridiculously expensive (about $1000) so I have never bothered - I just ride it set as it was at the factory.

I am taking it down south next month to do the Otago Rail Trail so that will be an interesting test.

I bought it from the original owner and it had about 1800km on the clock in the 2 years he had it. It still looks pretty new and rides like a dream. It was serviced by the Specialized dealer and they said the chain was nowhere near worn enough yet to change it so I would not worry about that too much.

PolicyGuy

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#2661920 23-Feb-2021 18:25

I have a Magnum Metro and thoroughly recommend it.

The handle bars adjust up & down a bit, but may still be too low for you at 'max up' position - I'm 1.80m and they're just OK for me.
You may need to throw financial caution to the winds and buy some after-market bars - think of it as a 'height tax' ;-)

There's no range anxiety with these ebikes.
I ride mine 50 - 60 km a week to do most of my shopping and errands about town, and the battery needs charging about every 10 days.
I rode a hire one from Hamilton to Ngaruawahia and back along the Waikato River track, so you backside is likely to give out before the battery!

They're a 'commuter' bike, not a 'mountain bike', so they're not designed to go off-road on rough tracks, but manage smooth dirt quite OK

Good luck!

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floydbloke

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#2673646 13-Mar-2021 10:29

Here's the shiny new toy.

Thank you all again for all the advice. I couldn't for the life of me find a Magnum Metro Plus (did come across one without the plus, but that was way too small).

More shopping around and found Trek Verve +2 in Large. Had a ride on it with the seat at max height, and the handlebar post and stem are height and angle adjustable respectively making it comfortable.

Then discovered it is also available in XL, ordered one of them and there we have it. (Came in at just under $3.8k.)

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jonathan18

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#2673700 13-Mar-2021 12:10

Looks good! How do you find the bike? Do you feel it's fast enough, and how do you find the noise of the Bosch motor? Does the sprung seat make any difference to comfort?

Would the bike be ok in the rain when the battery isn't in place? (Or just make sure this is avoided?)

Good to see Trek still does proper rear racks on some of their models - I'm not impressed by their minimalist attempt on the model I've been looking at, which doesn't let one attach paniers:

mattwnz

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#2673763 13-Mar-2021 14:12

There seem to be a lot of good and affordable options in the US. NZs offerings look expensive and poor in comparison. Hopefully that will change soon.

afe66

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#2673775 13-Mar-2021 15:06

Expect to be disappointed then.

NZ with a market of 5million is never going to be comparable with usa and it 330m.

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